


Mourn for the Things We Lost; Grateful for the Things We Gained

by StarlightXNightmare



Series: Alive Before Midnight; Dead by Daylight [1]
Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angry Meg, Anxiety, Anxious Dwight, Blood, Bonding, First Meetings, Gen, Gore, Human Sacrifice, Misunderstandings, Panic, Selectively Mute Jake, Socially Awkward Claudette, Swearing, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 09:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21455650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightXNightmare/pseuds/StarlightXNightmare
Summary: Claudette gets hopelessly lost and meets a few new friends in an inescapable nightmare.
Series: Alive Before Midnight; Dead by Daylight [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546696
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	Mourn for the Things We Lost; Grateful for the Things We Gained

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so proud of this—this is the longest thing I've written in so long. It's my first work in the fandom and everyone seems to be very in character (in my opinion) and the emotions and character backgrounds fueling them check out. I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor ^-^

She’d only meant to stretch her legs but somehow Claudette had gotten hopelessly lost during a quick stroll in the foggy forest. There's something strange about the fog—it's too thick and dark with a weird musty, rotting smell. Stumbling about in the cool, misty air, she had a feeling she'd missed her bus home.

The time after that is as foggy as the area around her. She's not sure if she passed out or what, but when she woke up, she was in a new place she didn't recognize. The dominant colors were blue, gray, and black and she appeared to be on private property—an abandoned mine with an industrial building and dilapidated tower. Poorly-made generators are scattered about the land with wood pallets propped up against walls and chipping red painted lockers. Dead trees, overgrown shrubbery, and large boulders give plenty of cover, and the only animals in the area are large crows and ravens that sit perched in trees and on rocks, watching with beady, cruel eyes. The land is walled off with a stone wall taller than Claudette and iron bars sticking out of the wall. After looping the area, she found two brick walls with a large, heavy, crude metal door. There's a switch on the wall but flipping it did nothing. No power.

And now she's here: Hiding behind a large boulder, praying that whoever is on the other side doesn't find her.

An abnormally loud heartbeat that isn't her own thunders in her ears as the person grows closer, about to turn the corner and spot her. Tears prick in the corners of her eyes, hand pressed over her mouth to muffle her terrified sobs. Then floodlights flick on as a loud hum cut through the silence. The heartbeat recedes as they make their way towards the light, leaving her in a silence so loud she can hear her heartbeat hammering painfully against her ribs.

Claudette slumped bonelessly against the rock, letting out a shaky sob. She pushes her glasses up and scrubs at the tears in her eyes. There isn't time to panic—she needs to figure out how to open those gates and escape.

“Hey,” a voice to her right whispers.

She nearly screamed, whipping around to see a scrawny man in a tan button up and a dark, rumpled tie. His eyes are wide behind his black framed glasses.

“Sorry, sorry,” he whispered, putting his hands up nervously, dark eyes wide. He looked about as scared as she felt. “I won’t hurt you; I’m a friend.”

“Thank god,“ she sobbed quietly, shoulders slouching forward as she curled in on herself. 

“My name’s Dwight,” he said, sticking an unsure hand out. "What's yours? If you don't mind me asking, of course." His words come out in a jumbled rush and she doesn't feel as bad for freaking out so much.

"Claudette,” she murmured, taking his hand and giving it a weak shake.

"Well, Claudette, if you haven’t noticed we... we need to repair those generators–" he said, pointing to a nearby generator –"to power the gates. I-I think we can escape that way."

Claudette shook her head. “I-I’m not good, like at all, with mechanics.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he stressed. “All you have to do is touch wires together and fiddle around with some parts. That’s all I did, and I, uh, know  _ nothing _ about fixing stuff.”

She blanched but nodded hesitantly. “Okay, okay, I… I can do that—I think.”

He nodded encouragingly. “You can do it; it’s easy.” He turned to go but stopped for a moment. “Oh, and if you see any others, can you make sure they know what to do? I know there's at least another person here but..."

Claudette stared at the man, watching him anxiously clean his glasses. Despite his fear, he's trying to create a strategy and lead them to safety—she could respect that. She needed someone to tell her what to do, to take pressure off her shoulders. She nodded, watching him smile in relief.

“Great, thanks. Good luck.” He waved before creeping off towards the nearby generator.

She sighed, feeling slightly better after an encounter with a friendly face. Wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks with her sleeve, she scowled and set her eyes on the thick fog. She could do this—all she had to do was stay out of sight. Easy, she did that all through high school and college. It's just actually life-and-death now—even more of an incentive to stay hidden.

* * *

The second person she came across was by accident. A red haired woman in a red jacket is knelt down beside a generator, elbow deep in the machine.

“Can... can I help?” Claudette says softly.

The woman grunts, ceasing her tinkering and glancing over her shoulder. “No, two people in one spot is gonna get us killed.”

“We’ll fix the generator faster,” Claudette pleaded.

She huffed, shooting her a glare. “Fine, yeah, whatever, don’t fuck anything up.”

Claudette bristled in indignation but stayed silent, crouching down on the other side of the generator. Removing the panel, she revealed the wiring and pipes inside the old contraption. She hesitantly sticks her hands into the cavity and began to work.

Dwight is right: she didn't need any former knowledge about machines to fix this one up. A meter on its side steadily ticks upwards toward the green zone as they work in silence, the machine's steadily growing chugging deafening in the quiet woods.

Ironically, it isn't her who messes up. A loud  _ bang! _ echoes through the fog, the red haired woman jerking back, fingers slick with oil and grime.

"What did you do?" Claudette hissed in panic, yanking her hands out as the heartbeat picked up.

The other shot her a glare before darting off, leaving her to scamper away before whoever roams the land found her. She isn't sure if she liked the redhead—she's abrasive and impatient, though Claudette has to admire her speed and stealth. So far she doesn't want to spend more time with her than she has to.

She explores her prison for a few minutes, noting places and things of interest—why are there so many hooks?—before her left foot presses down on something. The snap of metal is the only warning she receives as a split second later pain erupts above her left ankle. A high-pitched scream tears itself from her throat as she falls to one knee, tears welling up in her eyes. She glances down and gags at the sight of a bear trap with its teeth sunken past her jeans and into her flesh. She swears she can feel its teeth nicking bone. The metal teeth prevent most the blood from escaping but trickles still run down her leg. Claudette knows she can't stay here—she knows what she has to do.

Trembling hands reach for the bear trap and she gasps and grunts as she tries to pry it open. Claudette's never been strong—the only strong part of her is her mind. Warm blood slicks her hands, making it difficult to keep a good grip on the trap. The feeling of metal dragging against her wounds make her cry out and loose her grip, the device snapping shut once again.

The thudding of a heartbeat picks up and she whimpers. Another unsuccessful attempt at escape and all she's aware of is the unbearable pain and the heartbeat. Her struggles become wilder, more desperate. The person comes into view and heads towards her with purpose, and she screams at the sight.

He's not a person at all; he's a  _ monster _ . He's massive—a broad, hulking mass of muscle. Clad in an apron stained with blood, a hook hanging over his front and embedded in his back, he casts a frightening appearance. His mask is a dirtied white, eyeholes uneven and small in sunken sockets with a large, grinning mouth carved full of uneven teeth.

"No, no, no! Get-get away from me!" She screeched, throwing herself back, struggling to scoot away from him. All it accomplishes is the trap jostling in her leg and renewing the pain.

The monster chuckles as he kneels down in front of her. His deep voice sends shivers running down her spine. He rips the trap free from her leg and draws another scream from her. He picks her up by the back of her faux leather jacket, stands up, and throws her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Hey, put me, put me down! Let me go, let me go!" She yelled, thumping her fists against his back, flailing wildly. The monster appears unaffected. She continues to thrash, kicking and hitting, screaming as he carries her. She's only half-aware of their ascension up a hill.

He lifts her off his shoulder and a searing, stabbing pain shoots through her left shoulder. The pain is nothing like she's felt before—muscle and flesh being severed as the foreign object pushes its way through her back and out the front. She wails, clutching at the object impaled under her clavicle and her vision darkens for a terrifying moment. The pain is replaced with an odd floating sensation, and for a brief moment, nothing hurts. When she comes to, the masked beast is gone and her light purple shirt is stained with a splotch of warm red.

She takes a moment to blearily look at the object pierced through her shoulder, moaning in pain when she sees one of the rusted hooks jutting out.  _ So that's what they're for. _ All her hysterical mind can think of is how she's definitely going to get tetanus. 

Hanging from a hook is something Claudette never thought she'd experience. Her shoulder is sore from the pressure of the hook digging into exposed flesh, her weight pulling her right side down, legs dangling and body limp. She can't feel her left arm. Her mind drifts in and out of reality, detaching itself from the situation she's currently trapped in. She's only half aware of the whimpers and cries she makes, tears streaking down her face.

In one of her moments of lucidity, her gaze falls on a man creeping up the hill she'd been displayed on. She tried to study the man but all she could see was that he carried himself with confidence and caution at the same time. He looked like he knew what he was doing and it soothed her addled mind.

He stopped in front of her, looking left and right before holding her under her arms and lifting her forward and off the hook. She cried out, tears falling as she heard the gut wrenching sound of squelching flesh sliding on metal. He shushes her gently, glancing over his shoulder to confirm the creature in the mask wasn't coming toward them. She drops heavily to her feet, falling forward onto her knees, holding her wound and gasping pitifully.

The man in the green jacket tugged her to stand and beckoned for her to follow. She limps after him, stumbling down the hill, clutching at the gaping wound in her shoulder all the while. All she can think of is add pressure to the wound, stem the bleeding. She belatedly wonders how the human body can continue to function with so much damage done and blood lost—a bear trap tearing into her leg and a meat hook to the shoulder seems excessive. 

Once the two are out of sight from the hook and hidden by a large tree, Claudette figures that she should say something to the man who just saved her life.

"My-my name is–" she's cut off by a harsh shush "–Claudette," she whispers almost inaudibly.

The man stays silent for a long minute before murmuring lowly, "Jake." His voice is soft and strained. 

He holds up a red box and shakes it—a medkit. She can't remember if she'd seen him carrying it and forgot or if her brain had skipped over the information. Claudette is certain even if he used everything in the kit it wouldn't be enough to fix her up. The silence between them is awkward as he patches her up, enough so that she feels the need to break it.

"Hey, um, thanks for not... leaving me there," she chokes out. "You-you were really brave to... to save me like that. I don't think I-I could've done what you did."

Jake doesn't answer verbally, tying the bandage around her shoulder off and moving to her leg. His dark eyes flick up to hers and he nods minutely.

The silence around them changes, no longer awkward but mutual—understanding. Claudette finds that she doesn't mind sitting in silence with him.

* * *

Before the exit gates opened, everyone had been hooked once—the most recent being Jake, whom Claudette worked up the courage to sneak over and pull free.

As soon as Claudette is hooked a second time, having been caught trying to patch Jake up, the final generator is powered on. Enormous, spindly black spider-like legs materialize from thin air and surround her, one jabbing forward to impale her. She catches it and pushes it back with what little strength she has left, grunting with exertion as she fights for her life. She struggles with all her might, holding onto the hope that someone would save her. The monster stands in front of her, watching her struggle.

Then the sound of metal creaking and machinery groaning sounds far away as the scrappy door is opening.

She doesn't know how but she can feel when they leave, one by one. One leaves right away with another quick behind. The last lingers a moment before following the other two. They abandoned her; she's all alone.

Her grip slackens on the leg in betrayal and it surges forward through her wet, bloodied hands. Three pierce her in the middle in quick succession with another slamming through her back as an afterthought, a red flare engulfing her vision for a brief second. The legs cradle her body and the last thing she sees is the night sky as she's lifted up into a swirling, circular mass of eldritch limbs.

* * *

She jolts awake at a crackling campfire, gasping and panting as she feels for injuries. Everything is healed minus scratches from branches and her sore muscles. All that remains of the horrors she endures are faint scars marking where the hook and bear trap had wounded her.

She hesitantly decides she's not in some afterlife—the clearing is too familiar to the property she had just been on, the swirling fog too...  _ unnatural _ to be normal. Claudette tries to make sense of what had happened but came up with no conclusive answers.

She's alone for an indeterminate amount of time, sitting on a log close to the fire. She feeds leaves and small, dry branches into the greedy flames to keep her lone source of light going. Shapes in the dark of the forest move in the tree line but never step into the clearing. She hopes the fire is keeping them away.

The snapping of twigs and crunching leaves make her seize up, eyes wide. What was that? Had the monsters in the forest gotten brave enough to come near? She didn't think she'd get lucky enough to survive a second time.

Three figures emerge from the woods, bloodied and exhausted but seemingly healed. Claudette recognizes them right away.

"Dear-... please don't scare me like-like that," she called, watching them stare at her in confusion. Right, they left her; they probably thought she had died. Didn't she?

Dwight looked relieved to see her alive. Something flickered across Jake's face, his figure shrinking a bit. The other woman, however, looked appalled and... and furious.

"How the fuck are you alive right now!?" The redhead demanded, eyes hard as she stomped up to her. She jabs an accusing finger at her. "Are you in league with whatever brought us here?"

Claudette gapes at her, fumbling for words. "Of-of course not! I don't know how I'm alive either! And mind you: you le-left me for dead, you... you bitch!"

The word leaves her mouth before she can stop it. A rush of satisfaction courses through her for a moment at the woman's shock before shame and hurt wells up. Why should they save a stranger? She knew they were scared but she had been scared too. Didn't that mean something to them?

The other woman clenched her fists, anger in her pale blue eyes. Her mouth opens but Dwight interrupts whatever she had been going to say. 

"Hey, let's... let's settle down, please?" Dwight says pleadingly, shooting the woman a look.

"Claudette," he began, turning his eyes—full of guilt and shame—to her. "I'm sorry we left you. We shouldn't have and I realize it was wrong."

What little anger she held onto evaporated and Claudette shrugs weakly. "It's... it's alright; I understand." It wasn't really but they couldn't afford to fight, not now. 

Dwight relaxes in relief before turning to the other woman. "Meg, I get you're suspicious but Claudette hasn't done anything wrong."

"How the fuck do you know that?" She snapped. "We left her on a hook with that masked freak. How the fuck is she still alive!? Huh? Tell me!"

Dwight hesitated, unsure of what to say to get the redhead to back down.

"Listen," Claudette said, shrinking under Meg's burning gaze. "I-I don't know what happened either... as far as I know I... I died?" It didn't seem to placate the other woman much so she tried again. "Look, Meg?" Claudette would feel horrible if she forgot the woman's name already.

She gets a sharp nod of confirmation and continues.

"Meg, I-I'm just as scared and-and confused as you are. I-I don't know how I got... got here or–" she sobs, hands covering her eyes in humiliation "–how to get out... but I-I know we-we need to work together and–"

An arm around her shoulder makes her burst into tears, leaning into the touch, words forgotten as she hunches over and rocks. She sees uncomfortable, worried blue eyes before she latches onto the other woman with a death grip, hands fisted in her jacket.

"I-I'm sorry... for calling you a bitch," she gasps out.

Meg laughs in shock, eyes shining. "Nah, I deserved it," she said, sounding sincere. "I'm sorry for accusing you of... y'know." She waved a hand dismissively, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find what to say.

"It's okay," she whispers, even though it wasn't—not completely. "I understand."

Meg hugs her back and she feels the other trembling against her.

_Maybe Meg isn't so bad_, she thought tiredly.

Dwight sits awkwardly on Claudette's other side, stiffening up when she grabs him with one hand and pulls him close. His glasses are misty and his shoulders are drawn in. Jake had chosen to sit across from them, close to the fire. She gives him a grateful look that he doesn't see with his head bowed low. His body language screams 'leave me the fuck alone.'

Claudette let out a strangled noise as she thought of something. "Are... are we stuck here?"

Meg gasps, the reality of their position hitting her.

"Now-now wait a second," Dwight said, trying to regain control of the situation. "Who says we're–"

"I can't be stuck here!" Meg interrupts stubbornly. "My mom needs me," she choked, tears swimming in her eyes. "She's sick and I'm the only one to take care of her."

"I... How long will it take people to notice I'm gone?" Claudette asks herself in dawning horror. Her family will think she's working hard on her classes and it's not uncommon for people on her forum to disappear for a few days before resurfacing. There’s a slim chance her professors would notice her absence but her college is a large one. It could be days—weeks even—before anybody realized she's missing.

Dwight seems contemplative, face pale as he considers the question. Jake remains utterly silent, head tucked between his knees. She sees his shoulders shaking, however.

The fire crackles as they sit and mourn.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment with suggestions on future stories!!!
> 
> You can find me at kangaroo-roux on Tumblr!!!


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